


Memorial

by idrilhadhafang



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Closure, Fluff and Angst, Force Ghost Ben Solo, Forgiveness, M/M, Not A Fix-It, Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, or how complex it is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:55:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26055310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idrilhadhafang/pseuds/idrilhadhafang
Summary: Poe speaks with Ben’s ghost.
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Ben Solo, Poe Dameron/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Poe Dameron/Kylo Ren
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11
Collections: Gen Prompt Bingo Round 18





	Memorial

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Woobies
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

“Hey, Ben.”  
  
Poe was kneeling before the tree that Rey had planted in memory of Ben. She’d hung his shirt there, hung it there like Ben was still there.   
  
Poe wished he was. He hadn’t expected it to end like this. He’d expected things to simply, be better. If it wasn’t for the fact that the Republic needed him, he’d have kriffed off to Tatooine long ago.   
  
Like Rey was about to before Finn dragged her back.   
  
“It’s been, what, a year?” Poe said. “A year since you died. Two years since you...yeah.”  
  
“Since we met on that planet."  
  
Poe turned around just then, and it was there that he saw Ben. Shimmering blue, but nonetheless very familiar. Dressed in white, like he had been before everything had gone to hell.   
  
“Yeah.” The crash-landing on Savareen — it had been the last time that Poe had seen Ben. “I’ve been thinking.”  
  
“Have you?” Ben’s voice was gentle all the while.   
  
“Yeah.” Poe sighed. “I’m...not okay with what you did to me. But...I don’t hate you.” How else did he describe the matter of knowing he had the power to change the ending, in a way?  
  
“I’m glad. I’d understand if you did.” A beat. “Then again, can you hate anybody?”  
  
“It’s a weird thing about me.” Poe laughed just then, strained.   
  
“It’s why I loved you so,” Ben said. “No one could love the galaxy like you did. No one could see every flaw in the galaxy and love it all the same.”  
  
"Even you.”  
  
After all, anger wasn’t mutually exclusive to love, was it?   
  
"You weren’t weak,” Poe said. “What Snoke did to you, what Palpatine did...you weren’t weak.”  
  
“Neither were you. You never were.” Fingers, brushing Poe’s cheek.   
  
“So, you and Rey...”  
  
“Oh. Well, I learned, technically, we’re cousins. Thanks to Palpatine’s meddling, the Skywalker family tree is very complicated...”  
  
Poe frowned. “So...”  
  
“Yeah. Basically. It was pretty embarrassing. I...suspected that there was something familiar about her, but I didn’t know for sure.”  
  
“Right.”  
  
And then Poe laughed. He couldn’t help it. Ben laughed too, and for a moment, he looked like he should have been.   
  
“Poe,” Ben said, “Whatever you do...don’t be unhappy. You deserve every piece of it. I’m sorry that I couldn’t give you that, when I started out. But I hope you can find it now.”  
  
“You too."  
  
Ben hugged him before fading away.   
  
The embrace of a ghost was warmer than Poe thought it would be.


End file.
